The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters 1)

MY FEET SANK INTO THE SAND AS I LANDED. From the images on the tablet, I knew I was in the correct place. Sandsun Isles was a peculiar place for a safe house, but given how far it was from other large landmasses, maybe not the worst. Several mortals walked past me, their eyes lingering on me as they whispered about my attire. I was way overdressed for the environment.

The waves crashed against the shore, the sound a constant bass thrum. Giddy screams and shrieks of laughter cracked the air, causing me to flinch.

I am not at war

I am not at war.

I needed to get this over with promptly. I took a breath to steady my rising heartbeat. The rustic brick path beneath my feet meandered forward in loops and curves, breaking off in multiple directions. One led to the massive multi-windowed building in front. I could hear every person residing at the resort—their laughter, snores, and screams of pleasure. There were two thousand seven hundred and forty-four mortals by the heartbeats I counted.

It was not a hide-out at all but a smart tactic, nonetheless. If Miss Martinez wanted to hide something precious to her, it was a good idea to put it in a large group where it wouldn’t stand out. I passed beneath several trees, the path skirting two large pools of water with multiple people either sitting around them or swimming. It seemed idiotic, considering the ocean was mere feet away, but I had not been around mortals nearly enough to know if that was normal behavior.

I shielded my eyes as I entered the building. The lights were almost brighter than the sun Onuna orbited. I came to a stop, uneasiness gripping me. Several people paused mid-motion, staring at me, as they whispered amongst themselves. That did not unnerve me. I had been the center of conversation since the day I was born. No, there was something else, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. I scanned the room, but only mortal heartbeats took up this main area and the floors above me. What was it? After several moments of searching and not finding anything, I shook off the feeling, assuming the noises were just getting to me.

A massive statue spewing water from its center held center stage in the lobby. People gathered around it, and large potted plants graced the corners of the room. One wall was nothing but a clear glass window overlooking the rest of the island. Several mortals stood near or around two long, large white desks, like the ones at The Guild. The staff there was helping and answering questions for the guests. Maybe that’s where I needed to go? I strode forward, looking for a way to get upstairs. If I could not find it, I would ask.

‘Excuse me, sir? You seem to be lost. May we help you?’

Two men stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. They were a few inches shorter than me, with matching black attire and a blue and white rectangular symbol upon the breast. Their posture told me they assumed some position of importance here.

‘Yes, how do I reach the twenty-sixth floor? Am I asking that correctly?’

‘Listen, buddy. I think if you belonged up there, you would know how to get to the twenty-sixth floor.’ The guy on the left spoke, reaching up and patting me on my shoulder. I turned my head to look at his hand.

‘Please, do not touch me.’

He gasped and yanked his hand back, cradling it against his chest. ‘Son of a bitch, that was like the strongest form of static electricity I’ve ever felt.’

‘What the f—’

A ding sounded from behind me, and I turned to see two reflective doors slide apart. Several mortals exited a small room. That was an elevator. Logan had shown me how they worked. I strode toward it, ignoring the shouts from behind me and the mortals that stepped aside to let me pass. I slid inside just as the doors closed.

Several symbols lit up on the panel, the writing foreign to me. Every single language, from every single realm I had memorized since I was a child, overwhelmed my brain. Logan should be here with me, helping me as he always had. The lights dimmed as I lifted my hands and rubbed them over my face.

I thought of Logan and the way he had slumped against Miss Martinez as she supported him, his body beaten and bloody. The worst part was that I saw him bleeding, near death, and I had not felt a single thing. There had been no pain in my chest like when my father died, no immense rush of power telling me to destroy the creature who dangled him like a trophy. I was truly broken.

It was true what they said about the old gods, how their emotions crystallized over time, making them harder than stone. My father had shown me their statues when I was a boy as a reminder not to let our feelings define us. If we truly loved and lost that love, if our hearts were broken, it would destroy us. I knew I was on the cusp of losing myself. I knew it the second Zekiel had died. He was one of my oldest friends, and I’d felt nothing.

I just wanted to go home. To get away from the gazes that begged me to be the person they remembered.

It was why I was here. I needed to find Miss Martinez’s sister and figure out what all of this was about so I could avoid war and go home. I dropped my hands and opened my eyes. Okay, I needed to focus. I scanned the small buttons and thought back to the languages and images Logan had shown me when I first arrived. There had been letters, numbers, and signs. Wait, numbers, I needed twenty-six. The images blurred as my mind connected. I blinked, and suddenly I could read them.

I pressed the number twenty-six, and the button lit up.

The elevator opened to a long hallway lined with doors. I stepped out onto a shiny stone floor and paused, unsure how to proceed. With a small shrug, I started knocking. After several awkward conversations, I finally found the one I was looking for. I could feel the hum of power. It was subtle, barely there. She was like a small flicker of flame where her sister was a raging wildfire. The scent she carried was similar to Miss Martinez’s spicy cinnamon but with a hint of something more, something pure. I knocked lightly on the door and waited.

‘Who is it?’ I heard a small voice respond. It was followed by a noise that sounded like a small slap and a whispered, ‘Shit.’

I scratched my head, pondering how to word it correctly without frightening her. ‘Miss Martinez works for me, and she sent me to retrieve you.’

I hoped that was adequate. Shoes met the floor, and I heard shuffling inside. Then, there was a loud crash and more rustling. I stared at the door, wondering what she was doing in there, and heard her say, ‘One minute.’

I placed my hands behind my back, waiting patiently. A small ding sounded, causing me to turn toward the end of the hall. The elevator opened and paused as if someone had stepped off, but no one was there. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I felt my nostrils flare as I inhaled deeply. A small breeze traveled down the corridor, yet there was no scent, no footsteps, nothing.

Peculiar.

A small click pulled my attention back to the door as it creaked open. I had time to register that she looked very similar to Miss Martinez, but there were some differences. Her hair was darker on the top, turning lighter toward the ends, and her aura was striking. It was iridescent and danced around her, calm and peaceful. I stared at it, studying the colors, watching as they morphed to dark intensity as her arm swung out.

A forsaken blade sank into my abdomen. She let go, leaving the blade protruding from my stomach, and covered her mouth with both hands. I put my hands on my hips, glanced down, and then back up at her. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back a few paces as I sighed. I grabbed the hilt of the dagger and pulled it from my gut. ‘It seems you are more like your sister than I previously thought.’

Her eyes bulged, but her gaze was focused behind me, her body frozen with fear. I felt my nape prickle, and my instincts blared an alarm. I spun to face the three figures that had appeared behind me. Their outlines resembled men, but they were nothing but a black void with tendrils of smoke dancing off of them. Where eyes and features should have been, there was nothing but darkness.

I flipped the forsaken blade in my hand and slammed it into the formless skull of the one nearest me. Its scream was a pulse of air as it shook and burst into a million bits of darkened debris. The two next to it bent their heads as if looking at the remains of their kin.

They snapped their attention back to me, their hands twisting simultaneously, larger copies of the forsaken blades forming in their palms. As one, they swung, aiming for my head. I darted into the room and slammed the door shut before turning to look at the terrified woman.

I grabbed her hand and placed the hilt of the dagger into her palm, firmly closing her fingers around it. ‘Take this. That door will not hold, and you will need protection.’

She looked at her hand, at me, and then back.

A blade slammed through the door, splinters of wood falling to the carpet. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, trying to jar her from the fugue-like state.

‘Gabby, focus! Hide behind any large object you can find,’ I commanded.

She closed her mouth and scurried away to duck behind one of the large sofas. The door burst off its hinges, sailing across the room toward me. I batted it away and faced the two shadow figures, brushing the dust and wood splinters from my shoulders.

‘That was quite rude,’ I said. When the lights in the room flickered, I knew my eyes had changed to that pure silver glow. I rolled up the sleeves of my white button –up shirt.

‘I am assuming Kaden has sent you for retrieval?’ I asked, watching as they steadily made their way toward me. As they stepped into the sunlight streaming in through the window, I could see they were not purely shadow but wore ancient battle garb. They did not speak nor respond to my question.

Very well then.

A single ring on my right hand vibrated as I summoned the ablazed weapon. Their formless faces tilted toward it, and I felt another slight breeze as four more forms walked through the walls.

‘Interesting.’

I twisted my blade and stepped forward just as the one closest to me advanced. Metal met metal as I blocked his attack and sent my sword through his darkened skull. The other spectral creature came at me from the side. I twisted, meeting his blade next.

With our blades locked, I backed away as they advanced. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one dart past me.

I dropped one hand from the hilt of my sword and summoned a second blade. In one smooth motion, I spun and threw the dagger at the creature, impaling it against the wall as it reached for the woman. I completed the turn, using my momentum to sweep the legs out from under the one I’d been fighting. He fell to the floor, and I dropped to one knee, plunging my blade into his chest.

He shrieked and reached for the blade before bursting into ash. A third ran from the wall. I caught my sword before it hit the ground and pivoted as he came at me. I sliced the air, the tip sliding through his stomach. Shadows burst from the cut as he disintegrated.

Two more came from the wall, and I sighed. How many of them were there? One rushed me, the other went for Gabby. I slid under its outstretched arm as he thrust his blade at me and cut out the back of his knees in one fluid motion. He fell hard, and I stood up, slicing off his head. It rolled to the end of the couch before disappearing in the same smoke they’d come in on.

I heard a feminine scream, and the center of my palm burned, sending searing pain up my arm. My head snapped in that direction, and I saw one of the creatures dragging Gabby by her hair. He had a blade sticking out of his leg but continued to walk toward the door. She fought, fists flying, but her blows just went through his body. I looked down at my palm and the glowing, pale orange symbol beneath my skin.

Blood of my blood, my life is sealed with yours until the deal is made complete. I grant you my maker’s life in exchange for my sister’s life. She shall remain free, unharmed, and alive, or the deal is broken. My life is yours after, to do with what you must.

The blood deal. She was harmed, and it was threatening to break.

I strode toward the spectral creature, and he stopped. Gabby’s struggles increased, terror and adrenaline aiding her efforts. He dropped her and turned toward me, yanking his blade up to block my swing. His head hit the floor and exploded into ash. She coughed as she looked up at me, the front of her completely covered in his remains. I sent the ablaze weapon back into my ring and held out my hand.

‘Come now. We are leaving.’

She grabbed my hand, and I hoisted her to her feet. Her entire body was trembling, but she still stopped to pick up one of the forsaken blades. Hmm, maybe she was a fighter, just like her sister.

She clutched it to her chest as she looked up at me. ‘You killed them? You’re so fast and your eyes! Are you the one that came from the storm? Are you the good guy? Where is my sister? Is she okay?’ Her questions came in quick succession.

‘If you come with me, I will take you to her.’

She nodded eagerly, and I ushered her toward the door. I stopped short when black smoke shimmered in the room. It bent and twisted, and I knew the creatures were reforming. Without asking, I pulled her to me, and she squeaked as I lifted her off her feet before heading for the door.

‘I apologize for my roughness, but we must leave this instant, and I am much faster on my feet than you.’

She nodded and clutched at me with her free hand, still clinging to the forsaken blade. I tucked her close to me and rushed down the hallway. I turned briefly, shielding her as best I could, and shot a ball of pure energy at the shadow figures that followed. The two my power touched disintegrated. The third jumped aside and continued toward me.

I clenched my hand to call forth my blade when a pat on my back made me stop. I spun around, putting Gabby back on her feet and pressing her behind me in one smooth movement. She gripped the back of my shirt and moved with me as I backed her against the wall. A man, or something that resembled one, stood before us.

‘So, you are him. The World Ender in the flesh. I am honored.’

He was entirely encased in inky black armor, his head covered with a dark hood. One opaque eye stared back at me, the other hidden or missing. I could not tell which. He held his hands in front of him, passing a small black orb between them. The shadow creature emerged from the room and went to the man’s side.

‘You are their conjuror?’ I asked, slowly shifting to make sure the woman was still shielded. Her grip tightened on my shirt, and I could feel her peering around my arm.

‘Conjuror? You are from a different time.’ He smiled, and it was far wider than it should have been. ‘Hand over the whore’s sister. That is all we came for.’

‘Such a derogatory term, and unfortunately, I cannot do that.’

His head tilted to the side as he spun the orb on his palm. Shadows curled around his feet, and one by one, creatures formed until they surrounded him.

‘Do you really want to risk more lives for someone that means absolutely nothing to you?’

‘She is innocent. Therefore, she means everything.’

The creatures next to him drew their weapons and stepped forward in unison.

‘Then you are truly a fool. You can’t save everyone, and soon this world will belong to him.’

My wrist flicked, the silver ablaze weapon forming in my hand. The probability of ending them all while keeping her alive was slim but not completely zero. I just had to be fast enough to cut a path to him.

The floor shook, causing all of us to pause and catch our footing to stay upright. The conjuror looked as surprised as I felt.

‘Does the ground frequently shake here?’ I quietly asked Gabby behind me.

She shook her head. ‘That’s not a quake. That’s my sister.’

In the next instant, flames burst through the floor. The fire consumed the conjuror and his creatures as if it had intelligence. It burned hotter than the cursed Otherworld, destroying everything in its path. A black figure shot through the hole in the floor and out through the ceiling. The hallway went dark, and a loud, piercing alarm went off as water rained down from the sprinklers in the ceiling. I shielded Gabby with my body so she was not blinded or scorched. A black figure flew through the massive hole in the roof and landed. The fire died quickly, as if sucked back into the beast. It glared balefully up and down the hallway before settling back on its haunches and folding its wings against its sides. It tossed its head as a shimmer ran over its body, and damp, raven –colored hair was thrown over her shoulder.

My jaw ticked. ‘How did you get out?’